Wrapsa increases production capacity as it nears 40 years in business

Wrapsa, which is celebrating its 39th anniversary this year, recently completed the latest investment at its pharma manufacturing facility in Centurion, Gauteng to add new production capacity in three areas to produce lozenges, pastilles and effervescents. By Abby Vorster

With the growing demand for more convenient forms of oral drug delivery, conventional gelatine capsules, tablets, powders and liquids have been joined by more innovative dosage formats, such as gummies, pastilles and lozenges. The advantages of these new formats include dosing convenience as well as palatability and no need for water to administer the medicines.

Wrapsa is a bona fide contract manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. In order to assist its customers who are pursuing the development of new and improved oral therapies, Wrapsa has invested heavily in equipment and technology to produce pastilles and lozenges. It has also invested in an effervescent plant, which requires highly specific temperature and humidity monitoring due to the sensitive nature of effervescent pharmaceutical products.

A world-class laboratory

To ensure the stability of pastilles, lozenges, effervescent tablets and the many other forms of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products produced at Wrapsa, several stability testing upgrades have been implemented within its laboratory. These include new rooms and chambers to boost capacity in this area of the business.

The new laboratory equipment allows the team to carry out FTIR spectrophotometric testing on medicinal products. This is an effective analytical method to quickly and reliably perform quantative tests on pharmaceuticals and complementary medicines.

The contract manufacturer has progressed well towards attaining SANAS 17025-accreditation, which will complement the ISO 9001-accreditation already achieved within the laboratory.

Another major achievement for Wrapsa is its certification from the US Food & Drug Administration for foodstuffs and cosmetics intended for end-use in the US, which coincides with it recently being licensed by SAHPRA to produce medical devices.

The capacity enhancements and facility developments at Wrapsa have been crucial to its 39-year longevity

Four decades of accomplishments

The capacity enhancements and facility developments at Wrapsa have been crucial to its 39-year longevity. As the contract manufacturer looks forward to the momentous milestone of celebrating four decades in business in 2023, Wrapsa will continue to fulfil the definitive need for reliable South African manufacturers of pharmaceutical products, toiletries, pharmaceutical aerosols, veterinary products, food supplements and complementary medicines.

The company has grown steadily from modest beginnings to become South Africa’s largest independently-owned and fully-accredited contract manufacturer, supplying award-winning and expert services to some of world’s leading pharma giants and most influential healthcare brands.•

Wrapsa powers its own future

Manufacturing companies can play an important role in building a sustainable future by transforming their operations. Wrapsa has stepped up to this challenge by investing in backup energy supply. So, power outages never result in downtime at Wrapsa. Furthermore, the manufacturer’s water supply consists of a closed loop system, where rejected wastewater of the reverse osmosis plant is recirculated for use within the ablution facilities. This reduces wastage and consumption in the long run.

Wrapsa’s laboratory

ARV filling line

Tablet packing line